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SPEECHES 



MR. WEBSTER 



CAPON SPRINGS, VIRGINIA; 



TOGETHER WITH THOSE OF 

SIR H. L. BULWER & WM. L. CLARKE, ESQ., 

JUNE 28, 1851. 



Gideon & Co., Printers. 



SPEECHES 



MR. WEBSTER 



CAPON SPRINGS, VIRGINIA 



TOGETHER WITH THOSE OF 



SIR H. L. BULWER & WM. L. CLARKE, ESQ., 

JUNE 28, 1851. 
Gideon & Co., Printers. 



>/ 2 ~] 



PRELIMINARY NOTE. 



On Saturday, the 28th of June last, while upon a brief visit with his family to the Capon 
Springs, in Virginia, the Hon. DANIEL WEBSTER was entertained at a public dinner, 
given to him by two or three hundred of the yeomanry of that region of country, without 
respect to party. It was in every particular a splendid affair, and there were persons present 
who had travelled fifty miles (one old revolutionary soldier having walked in the burning sun 
some fifteen miles) for the purpose of paying their respects to the "Defender of the Con- 
stitution." The speeches which Mr. Webster delivered on the occasion were received 
with the greatest demonstrations of pleasure. The enthusiasm which they excited was 
immense; and distinguished members of the Democratic party complimented the speaker, 
in a public manner, for his boldness in giving expression to his liberal and enlarged views. 

Sir Henry L. Bulwer, the Hon. Lewis C. Levin, and Hon. John Barney, happen- 
ing to be present, were toasted, and also delivered brief speeches, which were warmly 
received and highly complimented. 

The first speech of Mr. Webster and the speech of Mr. Bclwer were the only ones 
which were reported; a few notes only were taken of Mr. Webster's second speech, and 
his official duties have been such as made it impossible for him to write it out, or to do 
more than make a few verbal alterations so as to render his meaning more clear where 
it had been misapprehended. 

Although these speeches have already been printed in the newspapers, the interest 
which they have excited in the public mind has induced their re-publication in pamphlet 
form. 



IN EXCRAWOf 

Bob. Atbec 
Mar 28 06 



MR. WEBSTER'S SPEECHES. 



The gentleman who presided at the Dinner was Wm. L. Clarke, esq., 
of Winchester, and, in introducing the distinguished Guest of the com- 
pany, he remarked as follows: 

I am about to announce the next general toast. The sentiments ex- 
pressed in it are in nowise distinguished for novelty. They are known 
here in the secluded recesses of North Mountain, as they are known at the 
National Metropolis, or at the Court of St. James or Vienna. They do 
not belong to, nor can they be appropriated by any locality, by any State, 
or confederation of States ; but wherever man is free, wherever he is 
the subject of constitutional freedom, or is struggling for that'boon, there, 
in whatever clime or latitude he may be, he claims to participate in this 
general fund. Announced now on this occasion, as they have been an- 
nounced heretofore over and over again, they will be re-announced again 
and again, by the present age and all future ages, so long as liberty and 
union are one and inseparable. [Applause,] Our distinguished guest, 
who is the subject of these sentiments, has been so kind as to say that 
here, in the bosom of Virginia, he is at home. I think he said he felt 
himself at home. Sir, we intend you shall be at home. [Applause.] We 
have given you not only our admiration, that the world gives you, but 
we have given you our affections. Long ago you enchained our under- 
standings; now you have thrown a spell over our hearts. You imperilled 
all for us; and Virginia is not the dwelling place of ingratitude. [Great 
applause.] You have asserted the vital rights of the South ; a tottering 
power of the General Government leaned against you for support, and you 
upheld it. You claimed its execution, not merely by a silent vote, or a 
formal speech in the Senate, but you have travelled into your adopted 
State, which was bone of your bone, and which, for a quarter of a cen- 
tury, has given you all she had to give, and is ready to do it again; and 
there, with the shadows of that great revolutionary monument over you, 
and in the language of your great prototype, you have declared, "Ye men 
•of Athens, ye worship an unknown God." And you have but returned 
from the great State of New York, and there, in the central parts, where 
these hydra principles first received serious political organization, even 
there rung, with a moral sublimity all your own, into the ears of every 
■civil officer in that vast dominion, the fearful challenge to look to and re- 



spect the oath he hath taken to support the Constitution of the United 
• s. Sir, you come among us suddenly, and I can add unexpectedly. We 
have neither pomp nor circumstance to give you, but we have a deep and 
abiding sense of the inestimable service you have rendered our beloved 
country, and we have sought, and do now most earnestly seek, to impress 
your mind with that conviction. I give you, gentlemen, 

" DANIEL WEBSTER, our distinguished guest: The jurist and statesman who 

HAS 1LL1 ISTRATED THE GLORY OF OUR COUNTRY. The CHAMPION OF THE CONSTITUTION 

and the Union, who has sown the seed of constitutional liberty broadcast over 
the civilized world." 

Mr. WEBSTER rose to reply amid deafening applause. He said: 
Ladies and Gentlemen: Fellow-citizens of Virginia: It is my first duty 
to express, however inadequately, my gratitude to you, one and all, for 
this unexpected token of respect. I am aware that many of you have 
come from great distances; many of you, I know, have come upon the sad- 
dle, under a burning sun; and you have done this to tender me this token 
of your regard. I know also that many of you have left your estates and 
harvest fields, at a time when every hour, whether of proprietor or work- 
man, is so important. For this, gentlemen, I thank you. I am afraid 
this courtesy has been to you costly and inconvenient, and therefore, gen- 
tlemen, it sinks more deeply in my heart. I thank you, gentlemen. 

It has been my fortune, gentlemen, to have seen much of Eastern Vir- 
ginia and of Southern Virginia ; in past times, also, gentlemen, I have seen 
something of Western Virginia, those counties bordering on the Ohio river ; 
but not until this week has it been my fortune to have seen any thing 
of the beautiful and renowned valley where I now stand. I esteem 
it a great pleasure to have had a few days' leisure, or at least a few 
days that I could spare from my official duties, to follow the course of the 
Potomac, penetrate the Blue Ridge, and, turning to the left along the val- 
ley of the Shenandoah, see something of the country betw r een the Blue 
Ridge and the Alleghany. My journey through your country thus far has 
been one of great gratification and admiration. I am free to confess that, 
from the time I crossed the Potomac, and, leaving it, went with the train up- 
wards along the valley of the Shenandoah, I have seen a country abound- 
ing in fertility and remarkable for its vast riches and beauty. [Applause.] I 
have seen the great grain-growing counties of New York, and of Ohio, and 
other Western States; of England, from Herefordshire to the borders of 
Scotland; but I have never seen any wheat-growing region surpassing that 
which J crossed between Harper's Ferry and Winchester. I have been told 
that the same rich country extends I eyond, and is to be found through She- 
nandoah, Rockingham, and Augusta counties. I hope, gentlemen, soon to 
have an opportunity Of witnessing the truth of that statement. [Applause.] 



I admire, too, your mountain scenery ; I admire it for its sublimity and 
grandeur ; though, perhaps, these mountains are not adapted to that high 
degree of cultivation for which the valley is so remarkable, still they are 
picturesque, and give rise to thoughts and feelings which tend to elevate 
and dignify the man who beholds them. I assure you, gentlemen, I should 
feel most happy, if my time would permit, and I hope before long I may 
have the opportunity, to proceed still further in this region of the State, 
to go westward to the banks of the South Branch of the Potomac, and see 
that great corn-growing and cattle-raising country of which I have heard, 
and of which I have read, so much for nearly half my life. [Applause.] 
But this, at present, my time will not allow. This is my first visit to this 
part of Virginia, but I hope, gentlemen, it will not be the last. [Applause.] 

There are two elements which constitute a country ; soil and climate are 
one, men and women the other. [Laughter. ] Here they are both to be found. 
But, even if there were no men and women in this region, the country would 
still be valuable and beautiful; and if it were as barren as yonder rock, 
(pointing through the window to a jutting cliff which overhangs the spring,) 
but was filled with intelligent men and refined and educated women, like 
those who now throng this wide hall, it would be most admirable still. So, 
if either were here, your country would be beautiful and fascinating, and 
you, gentlemen, know how enchanting it must be and is, when both are so 
happily combined. [Great applause.] 

But I must now turn my attention to the toast which has been read by 
my friend, a friend of long standing, at the head of the table. I must 
attribute its terms to the partiality of friendship, and I arn sure that they 
are somewhat extravagant. I disclaim having done any thing in support 
and defence, and in the maintenance of the Constitution, except what I 
have done in co-operation with other abler men ; with men of high charac- 
ter and true devotion to their country and its political institutions. [Ap- 
plause.] I was bred, gentlemen, indeed, I might almost say I was born, in 
admiration of our political institutions. I have studied them long, and in fact 
have studied little else of a political nature. All the public acts of my life 
have been performed in the service of the General Government. I have 
never held any office under any State government; and, with the excep- 
tion of a few days only, I have never been a member of a State legisla- 
ture. I am, as you may know, a lawyer, and from necessity a laborious one. 
I know not how the bread of idleness tastes, for I have never had a bit of it 
in my mouth. [Great applause.] This, perhaps, savors of self-commen- 
dation, but I hope it may be pardoned. If, in the discharge of my public 
duties, and in the performance of my public services, my private interests 
have suffered and been neglected, I am amply compensated by the hope 



that if I leave no broad estate, no rich accumulations, I shall leave at least 
an inheritance not entirely disreputable to those who shall come after me. 
[This sentence was uttered under great emotion, and received the most 
enthusiastic applause.] 

1 profess, gentlemen, to have acted throughout my life upon those prin- 
ciples which governed your ancestors, and my own .New England ancestors, 
in the times that tried men's souls; that is to say, in the revolutionary s\rug 
gle, and in that other most important period which witnessed the establish- 
ment of a General Government. All know that in this last high and im- 
portant proceeding, Virginia took an eminent lead. She saw that, to the 
disgrace of the country, the debt of the Revolution remained unpaid ; and 
that gallant oliicers and brave soldiers, who had brought wounds and scars 
and broken limbs from the battle-fields of liberty, were reduced to poverty 
and want, and that some of them were almost literally begging their bread. 
The great and good men of other States felt the same evil, and their 
hearts were rung by a similar anguish. 

An English poet has said, that there was a time when for an Englishman 
it was fame enough 

"That Chatham's language was his native tongue, 
" And Wolfe's great name compatriot with his own." 

Now, gentlemen, it is fame enough for me, if it may be thought that in 
my political conduct I have maintained, defended, and acted upon the 
principles of Virginia and Massachusetts, as these principles were pro- 
claimed and sustained in the two great epochs in the history of our coun- 
try, the Revolution, and the adoption of the present constitutional Govern- 
ment. If I have worked steadily to this end, I am sure that, whether 
much has been done or little has been done, it has been directed towards 
a good purpose. [Loud applause.] All that I say to-day, and all that I 
may say on similar occasions, I wish to be in the spirit of Washington and 
Madison, Wythe and Pendleton, and the proscribed patriots of Massachu- 
setts, Hancock and Samuel Adams. [Applause.] If these and other great 
founders of our liberty and fathers of our Constitution erred, then have I 
erred ; then have I been the most incorrigible of political sinners. [Laugh- 
ter. But if they were right, then I venture to hope that I am right also ; 
and "neither principalities nor powers, nor things present northings to 
conic,"' >hall eradicate that hope from my breast. [Loud and enthusiastic 
cheering. 

The leading sentiment in the toast from the Chair is the Union of the 

States, 'lnt: Union of the States! What mind can comprehend the 

consequences of that Union, past, present, and to come? The Union of 

ites ia the all-absorbing topic of the day; on it all men write, 



speak, think, and dilate, from the rising of the sun to the going down 
thereof. [Applause.] And yet, gentlemen, I fear its importance has 
been but insufficiently appreciated. Like all common blessings, however 
great, it has been of late years too little the subject of reflection. The 
unthinking and careless hardly take heed of that atmosphere, which sup- 
ports their lives from day to day and from hour to hour. As the sun 
rises in the morning, follows its track through the heavens, and goes down 
at night, we notice its course, enjoy its light and heat, and when we see 
it sink beneath the western horizon, we have no doubt, we do not think 
of the possibility, that it may not appear for another day. We are in no 
fear of perpetual darkness, or the return of chaos. So it is with our 
political system under a United Government and National Constitution. 
To these most of us were born; we have lived under their daily blessings, 
as if those blessings were not only matters of course, but imperishable 
also. But, alas, gentlemen, human structures, however strong, do not 
stand upon the everlasting laws of nature. They may crumble, they may 
fall; and republican institutions of government will assuredly sooner or 
later crumble and fall, if there shall not continue to be among the people 
an intelligent regard for such institutions, a great appreciation of their 
benefits, and a spirited purpose to uphold and maintain them. And when 
they shall crumble and fall, the political catastrophe will resemble that 
which would happen in the natural world were the sun to be struck out of 
heaven. If this Union were to be broken up by nullification, separation^, 
secession, or any event whatsoever of equally repulsive name and character; 
chaos would come again, and where all is now light, and joy, and gladness, . 
there would be spread over us a darkness like that of Erebus. Yes, gen- 
tlemen, I have little patience with those who talk flippantly of secession 
and disunion; they do not appear to me to understand of what they speak, 
nor to have the least idea of its consequences. If they have any meaning, 
I do not comprehend that meaning. Suppose this Union were dissolved 
to-day, where should we be to-morrow? I think a state of things would 
arise in which I should feel disposed to take shelter in the caverns of the 
mountains, or seek some other place of obscurity, in which I should not 
witness the degradation and ruin of the country. Every anticipation of such 
an event presents a gloomy and horrible picture; it is a vast Serboniara 
bog, in which no man could be happy unless he thought he was about getting 
out. Those who love the Union ardently, and who mean to defend it 
gallantly, are happy, cheerful, with bright and buoyant hopes for the 
future, and full of manly firmness and resolution. But secession and 
disunion are a region of gloom, and morass, and swamp; no cheerful 
breezes fan it, no spirit of health visits it; it is all malaria. It is all fever 



and ague. [Laughter and great applause.] Nothing beautiful or useful 
ra in it; the traveller through it breathes miasma, and treads among 
all things unwholesome and loathsome. It is like the region of your 
great Dismal Swamp; it is all 

" Tai r, beds of wei d . 

With many a fen where the serpent feeds, 

And man never trod before." [Laughter.] 

For one, I have no desire to breathe such an air, or to have such footing 
for my walks. [Applause.] 

Gentlemen, I am aware that the respect paid to me to-day is in conse- 
quence of my support of the adjustment measures of the last Congress. 
Although I wished to raise no false alarm, nor create any fears, yet, I be- 
ieved in my conscience, that a crisis was at hand; a dangerous, a fearful 
crisis; and I resolved to meet it at any hazard, and with whatever strength 
I possessed. A true patriot, like a faithful mariner, must be prepared for 
all exigencies; in the words of the old song — 

-" He is born for all weathers ; 



Let the winds blow high <>r blow low, 

His duty keeps him to his tethers, 

And where the gale drives he must go." [Applause.] 

The support of the Union is a great practical subject, involving the 
prosperity and glory of the whole country, and affecting the prosperity of 
ever)' individual in it. We ought to take a large and comprehensive 
view of it; to look to its vast results, and to the consequences which would 
flow from its overthrow. It is not a mere topic for ingenious disquisition, 
or theoretical or fanatical criticism. Those who assail the Union at the 
present day seem to be persons of one idea only, and many of them of but 
half an idea. [Applause.] They plant their batteries on some useless 
abstraction, some false dogma, or some gratuitous assumption. Or, perhaps, 
it may be more proper to say, that they look at it with microscopic eyes, 
seeking for some spot, or speck, or blot, or blur, and if they find any thing 
of this kind, they are at once for overturning the whole fabric. And, 
when nothing else will answer, they invoke religion and speak of a higher 
law. Gentlemen, this North Mountain is high, the Blue Ridge higher 
still; the Alleghany higher than either; and yet this higher law ranges 
farther than an eagle's flight above the highest peaks of the Alleghany. 

Laughter.] No common vision can discern it; no conscience, not tran- 
9i endental and ecstatic, can feel it; the hearing of common men never 
Listens to it* high behests; and therefore one should think it is not a safe law 
t<> be acted on, in matters of the highest practical moment. It is the code, 
however, ol the fanatical and factious abolitionists of the North. 



9 

The secessionists of the South take a different course of remark. They 
are learned and eloquent; they are animated and full of spirit; they are 
highminded and chivalrous; they state their supposed injuries and causes 
of complaint in elegant phrases and exalted tones of speech. But these 
complaints are all vague and general. I confess to you, gentlemen, that I 
know no hydrostatic pressure strong enough to bring them into any solid 
form, in which they could be seen or felt. [Laughter and applause.] 
They think otherwise, doubtless. But, for one, I can discern nothing real 
or well-grounded in their complaints. If I may be allowed to be a little 
professional, I would say that all their complaints and alleged grievances 
are like a very insufficient plea in the law; they are bad on general de- 
murrer for want of substance. [Loud laughter.] But I am not disposed 
to reproach these gentlemen, or to speak of them with disrespect. I prefer 
to leave them to their own reflections. I make no arguments against reso- 
lutions, conventions, secession speeches, or proclamations. Let these 
things go on. The whole matter, it is to be hoped, will blow over, and 
men will return to a sounder mode of thinking. But one thing, gentle- 
men, be assured of, the first step taken in the programme of secession, 
which shall be an actual infringement of the Constitution or the Laws, will 
be promptly met. [Great applause.] And I would not remain an hour 
in any Administration that should not immediately meet any such violation 
of the Constitution and the Law effectually, and at once. Prolonged ap- 
plause.] And I can assure you, gentlemen, that all with whom I am at 
present associated in the Government entertain the same decided purpose. 
[Renewed applause, with cheers.] 

And now, gentlemen, let me advert to a cheering and gratifying occur- 
rence. Let me do honor to your great and ancient Commonwealth of Vir- 
ginia. Let me say that in my opinion the resolutions passed by her Legis- 
lature at the last session, in which some gentlemen now present bore a 
part, have effectually suppressed, or greatly tended to suppress, the no- 
tion of separate governments and new confederacies. [Great applause.] 
All hopes of disunion, founded upon the probable course of Virginia, are 
dissipated into thin air. [Cheers.] An eminent gentleman in the Nash, 
ville Convention ejaculated, "0, that Virginia were with us! If Virginia 
would but take the lead in going out of the Union, other Southern States 
would cheerfully follow that lead." Ah, but that "if" was a great ob- 
stacle! [Laughter.] It was pregnant with important meaning. " If Vir- 
ginia would take the lead." But who, that looked for any consistency in 
Virginia, expected to see her leading States out of the Union, since 
she took such great pains, under the counsels of her ablest and wisest 
men, to lead them into it? [Applause.] Her late resolutions have put a 



10 

decided uegative upon that "if," and the country cordially thanks her for it. 
Fellow-citizens, I must bring these remarks to a close. Other gentle- 
men are present to whom you expect to have the pleasure of listening. 
[Crie^ "i (in on! (Jo on!] My concluding sentiment is, 

"THE UNION OF THE STATES: Mat those ancient friends, Virginia and 
Massachusetts, continue to uphold it so long as the waves of the Atlantic shall 

BRA1 ON i III Ml OR] s OF HIE ONE, OR THE AlLBOBANIEB REMAIN FIRM ON THEIR BASES IN 
Till TERRITORIES OK THE OTHER !'' 

This sentiment was received with enthusiastic demonstrations of ap- 
plause. The room resounded with the plaudits of the immense crowd, 
and the cheers followed each other in such quick succession that it ap- 
peared as if they would lift the very roof; and it was noticed that one 
venerable man went up and actually put his arms around Mr. Webster, 
while seated in his chair, and exclaimed "God bless you, for you are the 
greatest and best man in the world!" 

It is proper to remark that Mr. Webster was called upon to deliver a 
second speech on the evening of the above-mentioned dinner, which, 
though brief, contained some important features. It was called forth by 
the remarks of a Democratic gentleman, who had publicly expressed his 
sanction of Mr. Webster's previous speech, though he acknowledged 
that he had long held widely diiferent opinions from that gentleman on 
nearly every question of public policy. 

Mr. Webster said : 

Whatever may have been the differences of opinion which have hereto- 
fore existed between the Democratic and Whig parties on other subjects, 
they are now forgotten, or at least have become subordinate; and the im- 
portant question that is now asked is, Are you a Union man? [Great ap- 
plause.] The question at this time is, the Union, and how we shall 
preserve its blessings for the present, and for all time to come. To 
maintain that Union, we must observe, in good faith, the Constitution 
and all its parts. If that Constitution be not observed in all its parts, 
but its provisions be deliberately and permanently set aside in some parts, 
the whole of it ceases to be binding; but the case must be clear, flagrant, 
undeniable, and in a point of vital interest. In short, it must be such 
as would justify revolution; for after all, secession, disruption of the Union, 
or successful nullification are but other names for revolution. Where the 
whole system of laws and Government is overthrown, under whatever name 
the thing is done, what is it but Revolution? For it would be absurd to 
BUppose, that by whole States and large portions of the country, either 
the North or the South has the power or the right to violate any part of that 
' institution, directly, and of purposs, and still claim from the other 
obsen fit* provisions. [Applause.] If the South were to vio- 



11 

late any part of the Constitution intentionally and systematically, and 
persist in so doing year after year, and no remedy could be had, would 
the North be any longer bound by the rest of it? And if the North were 
deliberately, habitually, and of fixed purpose, to disregard one part of it, 
would the South be bound any longer to observe its other obligations? 
This is indeed to be understood with some qualification, for I do not mean, 
of course, that every violation by a State, of an article of the Constitu- 
tion, would discharge other States from observing its provisions. No 
State can decide for itself what is constitutional and what is not. When 
any part of the Constitution is supposed to be violated by a State law, 
the true mode of proceeding is to bring the case before the judicial 
tribunals; and if the unconstitutionality of the State law be made out., 
it is to be set aside. This has been done in repeated cases, and is 
the ordinary remedy. But what I mean to say is, that if the public men 
of a large portion of the country, and especially their representatives in 
Congress, labor to prevent, and do permanently prevent, the passage of 
laws necessary to carry into effect a provision of the Constitution, 
particularly intended for the benefit of another part of the country, and 
which is of the highest importance to it, it cannot be expected that that 
part of the country will long continue to observe other constitutional pro- 
visions made in favor of the rest of the country; because, gentlemen, a 
disregard of constitutional duty, in such a case, cannot be brought within 
the corrective authority of the judicial power. If large portions of public 
bodies, against their duty and their oaths, will persist in refusing to exe- 
cute the Constitution, and do in fact prevent such execution, no remedy 
seems to lie by any application to the Supreme Court. The case now 
before the country clearly exemplifies my meaning. Suppose the North 
to have decided majorities in Congress, and suppose these majorities persist 
in refusing to pass laws for carrying into effect the clause of the Constitu- 
tion, which declares that fugitive slaves shall be restored, it would be 
evident that no judicial process could compel them to do their duty, and 
what remedy would the South have? 

How absurd it is to suppose that when different parties enter into a com- 
pact for certain purposes, either can disregard any one provision, and ex- 
pect nevertheless the other to observe the rest! I intend for one to regard, 
and maintain, and carry out, to the fullest extent, the Constitution of the Unit- 
ed States, which I have sworn to support in all its parts and all its provisions. 
[Loud cheers.] It is written in the Constitution: 

"No PERSON HELD TO SERVICE OR LABOR IN ONE STATE, UNDER THE 
LAWS THEREOF, ESCAPING INTO ANOTHER, SHALL, INCONSEQUENCE OF ANY 
LAW OR REGULATION THEREIN, BE DISCHARGED FROM SUCH SERVICE OR 



12 

LABOR, BUI SHALL BE DELIVERED UP ON CLAIM OF THE PARTV TO WHOM 
SU( H SERVICE OR LABOR MAY BE DUE.*' 

That is as much a part of the Constitution as any other, and as equally 
binding and obligatory as any other on all men, public or private. [Ap- 
plause, j And who denies this? None but the abolitionists of the North. 
Ami pray what is it they will not deny? [Great applause and laughter.] 
They have but the one idea; and it would seem that these fanatics at 
the North and the secessionists at the South are putting their heads to- 
gether to derive means to defeat the good designs of honest and patriotic 
men. They act to the same end and the same object, and the Constitu- 
tion has to take the fire from both sides. 

I have not hesitated to say, and I repeat, that if the Northern States re- 
fuse, wilfully and deliberately, to carry into effect that part of the Consti- 
tution which respects the restoration of fugitive slaves, and Congress 
provide no remedy, the South would no longer be bound to observe 
the compact. [Immense applause.] A bargain cannot be broken 
on one side and still bind the other side. I say to you, gentle- 
men, in Virginia, as I said on the shores of Lake Erie and in the city 
of Boston, as I may say again, in that city or elsewhere in the North, 
that you of the South have as much right to receive your fugitive 
slaves, as the North has to any of its rights and privileges of nav- 
igation and commerce. I desire to be understood here amon<r vou, and 
throughout the country, that in hopes, thoughts, and feelings, I profess to 
be an American; altogether and nothing but an American. (Long and 
continued cheering.) And that I am for the Constitution, and the whole 
Constitution. I am as ready to fight and to fall for the constitutional 
rights of Virginia, as I am for those of Massachusetts. I pour out to you, 
gentlemen, my whole heart, and I assure you these are my sentiments. 
(Cheers.) I would no more see a feather plucked unjustly from the honor 
of Virginia, than I would see one so plucked from the honor of Massa- 
chusetts. (Great applause.) It has been said that I have, by the course 
I have thought proper to pursue, displeased a portion of the people of 
Massachusetts. That is true, and if I had dissatisfied more of them, what 
of that? (Great and continued applause.) I was in the Senate of the 
United States, and had sworn to support the Constitution of the United 
State-. That Constitution made me a Senator of the United States, acting 
for all the States, and my vote was to bind the whole country. I was a 
Senator for the whole country. (Applause.) What exclusive regard had I 
to |' lj to the wishes of Massachusetts upon a question affecting the whole 
nation, and in v. hich my \ ote was to bind Virginia as well as Massachusetts? 
.\h vote v. a- to affect the interests of the whole country, and was to be 



13 

given on matters of a high Constitutional character. I assure you, 
gentlemen, I no more respected the instructions of Massachusetts, 
than I would have respected those of Virginia. It would be just as 
jeasonable to expect me to vote as the particular interests of Massachu- 
setts required, as it would be to expect that, as an arbitrator, a referee, or an 
umpire between two individuals, I was bound to obey the instructions of 
one of them. (Applause.) Could I do that ? Have I descended, or am 
I expected to descend, to that level? (Cries of "never," "never." 
" You are not the man to do it.") I hope not. 

Gentlemen, instructions from States may properly be regarded as ex- 
pressions of opinion by well informed political men, and in that view are 
entitled to respect. But that a Senator in Congress, acting under the 
Constitution, and bound by his duty and his oath, to act, in all things, ac- 
cording to his conscience, for the good of all the States, should, neverthe- 
less be absolutely bound by the will of one of them, is preposterous. Vir- 
ginia has not consented that her rights, under the Constitution, shall be 
judged of by the legislature of Massachusetts ; nor has Massachusetts- 
agreed that hers shall be judged of by the legislature of Virginia. But 
both have agreed, that their rights and interests shall be judged of by per- 
sons, some of whom are appointed by each, and all bound to decide impar- 
tially. That men, mutually chosen to decide the rights of parties under a 
compact, are yet to be bound, each to the will of the party appointing him, 
s an absurdity, exceeding all other absurdities. 

Mr. Webster also adverted, at considerable length, to the consequences 
of a dissolution of the Union, and pointed out the present and prospective 
power and glory of the United States. He spoke of the struggle now 
going on in Europe between constitutional government and arbitrary 
power; and incidentally mentioned his having alluded to this subject in a 
letter addressed by him, some time since, to the Austrian Charge d'- 
Affaires. (Tremendous cheering.) He next proceeded, at some length, to 
trace the system of lepublican governments; the practical operation of 
popular representation; and the inevitable necessity that the will of the 
majority, constitutionally exercised, should be the supreme law; and that 
the law, thus ordained, being the States' collected will, should be obeyed. 
In conclusion, he said : These, gentlemen, are my sentiments. I intend 
to hold fast to them for the remainder of my life, in the hope that, when I 
die, I may close my eyes on free, happy, united America ! 



MR. BULWER'S SPEECH. 



The Chair Inning given the following regular toast: 

"our distinguished guest, the learned and accomplished minister from the 
Court of St. Jambs, who upholds the dignity of his eminent station, guards the 
interest of his own people, and wins the good will of ocrs." 

Sir HENRY L. Bl'LWER rose and delivered the following speech, 
which was highly and continuously applauded: 

.Mr. President and Gentlemen: Allow me to say that the honor you 
have conferred upon me, and indeed that the whole of this scene, takes me 
completely by surprise. When a man undertakes a jaunt or a journey, he, 
in some degree, generally anticipates the business or the amusement he ex- 
pects to meet with; but lean assure you that when I came into the mountains 
of Virginia, though I might have had some faint idea of angling for a trout 
or hunting after a rattlesnake, I had not the remotest conception of the 
probability or possibility of being present at a public dinner, or of making 
a speech. [Laughter and applause.] I am sure, therefore, that you will 
not expect from me so learned a disquisition as that of my honorable friend 
from Baltimore (Mr. Barney) upon the institutions and celebrities of the 
State of Virginia; nor that I should describe to you the origin and progress 
of government and society from those early times " when Adam delved 
and Eve span," down to the moment when we are here assembled at the 
" Mountain House," with the logical severity and eloquent and poetical 
fancy of my honorable friend from Pennsylvania, (Mr. Levin.) [Ap- 
plause and laughter.] But this I can truly and simply say, that with your 
kind and generous expressions still present to my memory, and with the 
honest and hearty-looking countenances of those from whom these expres- 
sions proceeded before my eyes, and with the knowledge that you, the 
gentlemen and yeomen of Virginia, have here at a moment's notice as- 
Bembled to do honor to my illustrious friend, whose voice is as eloquent as 
that of nature herself in these romantic solitudes, the pleasure I expe- 
rience is, following the ordinary rule, the more lively from being al- 
together unexpected. [Much applause.] With your political parties 
and discussions, gentlemen, I have nothing to do; to them I am, and I 
wish to be, an entire stranger; but, independently of all such parties 
and discussions, I can understand and admire a great political sentiment. 
orator of old, when asked what quality was most essential to the ex- 
ercise of his art, replied "action;" and when asked again what was the 
next quality, again and again answered, "action;" by which he did not 



15 

mean the waving of the hand here, or the lifting of the arm there, but that 
earnestness which is the expression of true feeling. Gentlemen, the 
modern Demosthenes, who is this day amongst you, when asked again and 
again what is most essential at this moment to the welfare of his country, 
has said, with that earnestness which his predecessor described, again and 
again, " Union." [Great applause.] Gentlemen, I am the citizen of an 
extensive empire, the subject of a sovereign whose dominions stretch out 
far and wide over the surface of the globe, and I can well comprehend and 
sympathize with the statesman who, proud of the authority and majesty of 
this vast Republic, shrinks with horror from the thought of its being split 
up into petty commonwealths, comparatively insignificant in power and 
small in extent. 

I do not, however, agree with some preceding speakers, that it is alto- 
gether unnatural or uncommon to find in great States men who speak with 
indifference of the possibility of those great States becoming small ones. 
[Sensation.] There are such men in my own country, and I am not aston- 
ished at it. If you want to know the value of health, you must not expect 
to ascertain it from inquiry of the strong and robust. It is the invalid who 
will tell it to you ; and thus it is with nations. If you wish to learn the 
value of national power and national greatness, you must ask the question 
of the Pole, the Venetian, the Genoese, of the people who, owing to their 
divisions and their weakness, have lost a national existence ; or you must 
direct your inquiry to the people of those small States in Europe or Amer- 
ica, which still exist, but while they enjoy the name of independence, are 
alternately under the dictatorship of domestic factions or foreign force. 
[Applause.] Honor, then, to the man who collects from the aggregate 
-wisdom of a great community a sufficient moral power to assuage local pas- 
sions and keep within appropriate limits party discontents. [Applause.] 
But, gentlemen, if it be a great and noble task thus to unite, and keep united, 
the various elements which constitute the character and greatness of one 
nation, it is surely a task as noble and as great to unite together, and keep 
united, two mighty nations, who, by their joint authority as the representa- 
tives of that admirable combination of liberty and order, which is every 
where the sign and symbol of the Anglo-Saxon race, may exercise a bene- 
ficent and universal influence over the happiness and destinies of mankind. 
[Loud and long applause.] 

Gentlemen, with this idea now present to my thoughts, I, as an English- 
man, say to you as Americans, "union, union, union." [Applause.] Aye, 
let there not only be peace between us, let there be union also. [Contin- 
ued applause.] The word resounds through these halls appropriately ; let 
it reach the ears of Mr. Rickards ! (the proprietor of the Capon Springs 



16 

•■ M 'Uiitain House." I- he not, gentlemen, himself the type of union? 
For has lie not united all the charms of scenery and of society, of water and 
of wine, of health and amusement, in this lovely spot ? [Applause.] And, 
a- 1 look around me and see the animated looks and admiring eyes to my 
left, and the gentle glances and graceful smiles of the fairer portion of my 
audience to my right, can I be wrong in conjecturing that there is a favor- 
able disposition on all sides of me towards a united state ? [Much laugh- 
ter and applause.] For my own part, gentlemen, whether as regards the 
union between the different States of this federal Republic ; or whether as re- 
gards the union between us Englishmen and you Americans; or whether as 
regards the union between woodland and waterfall, and good cheer and good 
company; or whether as regards the best and closest of all possible unions, 
viz., that between warm hearts and willing hands, [much laughter and ap- 
plause,] I declare myself professedly and emphatically a union man, [re- 
newed laughter and applause,] and as such have enjoyed your festivity, 
partaken of your sentiments, and now beg to leave amongst you my kind- 
est thanks and most hearty good wishes. 

The honorable gentleman sat down amidst loud and prolonged cheering, 
to which followed three cheers for Bulwer. 



IT 

The following correspondence between the Hon. Daniel Webster and a 
gentleman in North Carolina, copied from the National Intelligencer, 
will be read with interest in connexion with the preceding speeches. 
Hon. Daniel Webster : 

Dear sir : The question of the right of a State to secede from the Union 
is, as you are doubtless aware, producing at this time, in this part of the 
Union, no inconsiderable degree of excitement. And, as it is a question in 
which every free American is directly concerned, a question upon which 
every free American should be correctly informed, as upon its decision 
may depend the future prosperity and happiness, or misfortune and ruin of 
this great country; and, believing as I do, that from your intimate acquaint- 
ance with the principles upon which our Government is based, and the 
operation of all of its machinery, you are entirely competent to give upon 
this, as upon all other questions of a like character, correct information ; 
and, being anxious myself, as many others are, to possess correct views 
with regard to this subject, I desire you, valuable as I know your time to 
be, to devote a moment in giving an answer to the following interrogatory : 
" Do you believe that a State has a right to secede from the Union ?" 
By answering this question, sir, you will confer a favor upon many of 
your countrymen here, who believe as I do, that an opinion of yours, thus 
expressed, would go very far towards quieting the excitement that the 
agitation of this subject has produced in this section of the Union. 

■Yith profound admiration for your character as an American statesman, 
an^. sincere regard for you as an American citizen, 
I am, sir, your obedient servant, 



July 20, 1851. 

August 1, 1851. 

Dear sir: I have received your letter of the 20th July. 

The Constitution of the United States recognises no right of secession, 
as existing in the people of any one State, or any number of States. It is 
not a limited confederation, but a Government; and it proceeds upon the 
idea that it is to be perpetual, like other forms of Government, subject only 
to be dissolved by revolution. 

I confess I can form no idea of secession but as the result of a revolu- 
tionary movement. How is it possible, for instance, that South Carolina 
should secede and establish a government foreign to that of the United 
States, thus dividing Georgia, which does not secede, from the rest of the 
Union ? 

2 



18 

Depend upon it, my dear sir, that the secession of any one State would 
first Btep in a process, which must inevitably breakup the entire 
I Q into more or fewer parts. 

W hat I said at Capon Springs was an argument addressed to the North, 
M I to convince the North that if, by its superiority of numbers' 

it Bl eat the operation of a plain, undoubted, and undeniable irjunc- 

Uon oi th, Constitution, intended for the especial protection of the South, 
bui h a proceeding must necessarily end in the breaking up of the Govern- 
ment, that is to say. in a revolution. 

1 am, dear .sir, with respect, your obedient servant, 

DAN'L WEBSTER." 



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